Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 will be introduced at CES 2025, we’ve again been told – alongside Blackwell notebook GPUs, possibly.
The latest rumor on the next-gen GPUs from Team Green comes from the Chinese tech site Benchlife (add seasoning), and follows the detailed spec spillage about the incoming desktop graphics cards from Kopite7kimi we saw yesterday.
Indeed, Benchlife doubles down on that previous leak, noting that they have received the same info aired by Kopite7kimi on X regarding the spec of the RTX 5090 and 5080 (including the latter getting just 16GB of video RAM).
We’re told that these GPUs will be officially revealed at CES 2025, and that at the same time, we could see Blackwell mobile GPUs to power up gaming laptops – but the site sounds more unsure about the latter.
We also get a clarification on another couple of points, namely that the RTX 5090 will use a 14-layer PCB (printed circuit board) and will leverage PCIe 5.0. Furthermore, Benchlife pours cold water on a previous rumor that the RTX 5090 will use two 12V-2×6 connectors – one is going to be standard on both the RTX 5090 and 5080, the site asserts.
Analysis: Connector conundrums – and that RAM rumor
It’s good to hear that the 'double power connector as standard' rumor for the RTX 5090 is a false one – at least in theory. However, as Wccftech, which spotted the Benchlife article, elaborates, there may actually be premium Blackwell flagship graphics cards designed for overclocking enthusiasts that have two 12V-2×6 connectors. The point is that the vast majority of RTX 5090 models won’t, though.
As for the purported launch timeframe, the leaks are increasingly pointing to a CES 2025 debut, rather than a late 2024 reveal for the new Blackwell GPUs. All in all, we’re inclined to believe this is the case – as there’s hardly a rush for Nvidia to get the RTX 5090 and 5080 out. Team Green already owns the top-end of the graphics card market, and AMD isn’t even going to challenge in this space with RDNA 4, which will top out at mid-range (if the many rumors about this are right).
It's also not a surprise to launch somewhat later given that Nvidia would want to prioritize AI graphics cards – which make far more money than GeForce models – with the initial top-end Blackwell silicon rolling off the production lines.
While the RTX 5090 appears to be shaping up nicely – for those who want a ridiculously powerful GPU, albeit guzzling a ridiculous amount of power, possibly, and likely ridiculously expensive to boot – the revelation that the RTX 5080 only has 16GB of VRAM (if the spec leak is right) did not go down at all well.
There were cries aplenty of Nvidia ‘cheaping out’ on the video memory once more, as you might imagine – and given that the RTX 5080 is expected to be more powerful than the RTX 4090, it does feel like an underpowered VRAM configuration. (Particularly when on the other side of the GPU fence, AMD equips a current-gen mid-range graphics card, namely the 7800 XT, with 16GB).
There were hints that Nvidia’s looking at 16GB for the RTX 5080 going back quite some way, mind you, but we still can’t leap to conclusions yet (though currently, plenty of folks are bounding across conclusion chasm like there’s no tomorrow, it must be said).
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